Upcoming gigs: Friday in Berkeley, then off to OH/KY/IN/PA

May 16th, 2013

Friday, May 17, 9pm: Sycamore Slough String Band and Melody Walker at the Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley CA

Sunday, May 19: Kuzzinz, 3006 North County Road 25A, Troy OH

Tuesday, May 21: Rumpke Mountain Boys and DG at Stanley’s Pub, 323 Stanley Ave., Cincinnati OH. (513) 871-6249

Wednesday, May 22: Rumpke Mountain Boys and DG at The Mousetrap, 5565 N Keystone Ave, Indianapolis IN. (317) 255-3189

Thursday, May 23: Rumpke Mountain Boys and DG at Cosmic Charlie’s, 388 Woodland Ave, Lexington KY. (859) 309-9499

Friday, May 24: Rumpke Mountain Boys and DG at Diamond Pub and Billiards, 630 Barret Ave, Louisville KY. (502) 690-7040

Saturday, May 25, 2:30pm: Dark Star Jubilee, Thornville OH

Sunday, May 26: “House concert” at Frankie’s, 5832 Forward Ave, Pittsburgh PA. Potluck dinner at 6:30, music at 7:30. Email me for info/reservations.

Monday, May 27: DG and John Mullins play a house concert in Middletown OH. Email tblessing@alchemyhouse.com for info/reservations. Suggested donation $15.

More info and lots more gigs at dgans.com

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Dead to the World 5/15/13

May 15th, 2013

Interview with Darya Pino Rose, whose blog summertomato.com is an indispensable resource for people who are committed to healthy eating. Her new book, Foodist, will be offered as a thank-you gift tonight. Please pledge your support by calling 510-848-5732 or 1-800-439-5732, or you can pledge online. Here’s an online interview with Darya in the Inkwell…

Hard to Handle – Grateful Dead, Road Trips vol 3 no 3
Pirate Girls – Claudia Russell, All Our Luck Is Changing
Keepin’ It Between the Lines (Old School) – Peter Rowan, The Old School
Smokestack Lightning->
New Speedway Boogie – Grateful Dead, Dave’s Picks 2013 Bonus Disc (12/21/69)
Easy Wind – Grateful Dead, Road Trips vol 3 no 3 bonus disc
Sad Old Song – Pharis and Jason Romero, Long Gone Out West Blues

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Grateful Dead Hour no. 1286

May 12th, 2013

Week of May 13, 2013

Part 1 35:41
Grateful Dead 3/1/87 Henry J Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland CA
SAMSON AND DELILAH
BLACK MUDDY RIVER
HE’S GONE->
DRUMS

Part 2 19:31
Grateful Dead, Concertgebouw – Amsterdam, Holland 5/10/72
NOT FADE AWAY->
GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELIN’ BAD->
NOT FADE AWAY

Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes from the Dark Star Jubilee, May 24 to 26 at Legend Valley in Central Ohio. Three nights of Dark Star Orchestra plus Mickey Hart Band, Yonder Mountain, Melvin Seals & JGB, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, The Wailers, Greensky Bluegrass, Donna Jean Godchaux Band featuring Jeff Mattson, Elephant Revival, David Gans, Pimps of Joytime, and many more. Complete festival details and tickets are available at www.darkstarJubilee.com.

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Dead to the World 5/8/13

May 8th, 2013

FUND DRIVE! Yes, it’s that time again. Call 510-848-5732 or 1-800-439-5732 to pledge, or you can donate online at kpfa.org.

Morning Dew – Grateful Dead 5/8/77 Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Turn On Your Lovelight->
Not Fade Away->
Turn On Your Lovelight – Grateful Dead, Dave’s Picks vol 6 (2/2/70)

El Dorado – Jim Lauderdale, Patchwork River
Russian Lullaby – Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, Alternate

Family Band
Port Costa
Get Up Jake
Do What You Love Blues
We Made It Home
Black Grace
Baby, I’m In the Mood for You
Mississippi Moon
Loser – Melody Walker and Jacob Groopman live in the KPFA Performance Studio

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Grateful Dead Hour no. 1285

May 5th, 2013

Week of May 6, 2013

Part 1 27:19
Furthur 4/19/13 Capitol Theater, Port Chester NY
HELP ON THE WAY->
SLIPKNOT!->
THE SHAPE I’M IN
Talk
Peter Rowan, The Old School
DROP THE BONE
THAT’S ALL SHE WROTE

Part 2 28:16
Grateful Dead 3/1/87 Henry J Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland CA
HELL IN A BUCKET->
SCARLET BEGONIAS->
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN

The 4/19/13 Furthur show is available on CD or by download from gnomesandhobbits.com, along with most other Furthur shows, Bob Weir solo acoustic shows, and more. “The Shape I’m In” was a tribute to Levon Helm on the first anniversary of his passing.

Peter Rowan‘s new CD, The Old School, includes (I’m very proud to say) a song we wrote together! It’s called “Drop the Bone.” You can preview and order the CD here.

Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes from the Dark Star Jubilee, May 24 to 26 at Legend Valley in Central Ohio. Three nights of Dark Star Orchestra plus Mickey Hart Band, Yonder Mountain, Melvin Seals & JGB, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, The Wailers, Greensky Bluegrass, Donna Jean Godchaux Band featuring Jeff Mattson, Elephant Revival, David Gans, Pimps of Joytime, and many more. Complete festival details and tickets are available at www.darkstarjubilee.com.

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Gathering of the Vibes 2013

May 1st, 2013

I am so happy to be returning to the Gathering of the Vibes again this year! Advance tickets are available now!

coBranded-Band-HTMLeMail_01
coBranded-Band-GAN_02
GOTV-DG

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Grateful Dead Hour no. 1284

April 28th, 2013

Week of April 29, 2013

Part 1 28:47
Steve Kimock w/ Bob Weir et al 3/28/13 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
LITTLE RED ROOSTER
I KNOW YOU RIDER
STANDING ON SHAKY GROUND

Part 2 27:16
Neal Casal, 7″ single for Record Store Day
MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
Grateful Dead, Europe ’72: The Complete Recordings (5/23/72)
HE’S GONE
Jerry Garcia Band, GarciaLive vol 1.5 (6/26/81)
MISSION IN THE RAIN

Support for the Grateful Dead Hour comes this week from the All Good Music Festival, July 18-21 at Legend valley in central Ohio, featuring Furthur, Primus, Pretty Lights, Yonder Mountain, acoustic Dark Star Orchestra, John Butler Trio, STS9, Grace Potter, Keller Williams and the Travelin’ McCourys, Leftover Salmon, and over 30 more with no overlapping sets. more information and tickets at allgoodfestival.com.

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Dead to the World 4/24/13

April 24th, 2013

Help on the Way->
Slipknot!->
The Shape I’m In – Furthur 4/19/13 Capitol Theater, Port Chester NY

Available on CD or via download from gnomesandhobbits.com

Phone interview with Joe Bagale

Yesterday Once Again – Joe Bagale, Yesterday Once Again

Uncle John’s Band->
Viola Lee Blues – Furthur 4/19/13 Capitol Theater, Port Chester NY

Yellow Dog Blues
Ruckus
Little Bitty Mama (Skinny Legs Blues) – Suzy Thompson and Mary Flower live in the KPFA studio

I’m Going Back to Texas – Meredith Axelrod, Hippo Hurray

I’m Dreaming of Your Demise – Mary Flower, Misery Loves Company

Temptation Rag
Meet Me in the Bottom
Forrest Rag
Stinging Snake Blues – Suzy Thompson and Mary Flower live in the KPFA studio

She Wasn’t Born to Follow – Boris Garcia Live

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Don McCallister’s Grateful Dead novel “Fellow Traveler”

April 22nd, 2013

Fellow Traveler: A Rock & Roll Fable
by James D. McCallister

Fellow Traveler is as worthy a document of the latter-day Grateful Dead experience as any I’ve read, fictional or historical.

I think it will work as well for people who aren’t steeped in the Deadhead culture as it does for those who are. McCallister wisely, and wittily, fictionalizes the Grateful Dead, thereby lifting the lay reader over any barriers to entry and sparing us the ordeal of reading rhapsodic descriptions of entirely subjective experiences. McCallister knows that each of us experienced that music and those trips in our own individual ways, and so he refrains from imposing his interpretations on the story.

The story illuminates, lovingly and realistically, the power of the music and the culture that sprang up around it. The mystery that drives the plot is more of a spiritual quest than any kind of caper or drug-crazed picaresque. The protagonist of Fellow Traveler is no superhero; he’s a regular guy, with a biography rather similar to the author’s. His tour buddy, Nibbs Niffy, is a good deal more enmeshed in the “Jack O’Roses” culture than our narrator is. I know these characters very well, and I find no fault in his evocation of them: “…for someone like Brian, raised on TV stars and record albums and the Beatles and media constructs designed to seem bigger than life, the Jack O’Roses experience was better than sex, a living history lesson to which all of us could make our own contribution. I think it was during the shows when [he] most felt a connection to the rest of the world…” You know that guy, too, don’t you? You might even be that guy.

The narrative is sprinkled with phrases from real Grateful Dead songs, making good use of Robert Hunter’s wisdom but never using it to shore up McCallister’s own prose. The writer has a sure hand with the language, a style that avoids florid prose, and a deep grasp of the milieu he’s describing.

“We have only begun to understand what we experienced,” McCallister writes near the end. “Time will fill in the blanks, with a little help from us, the survivors, and those who go on to study what we did with ourselves.” This book is part of that reckoning, and a welcome one.

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Interviews (and other stuff) on SoundCloud

April 21st, 2013

I finally got around to activating my SoundCloud account, and among other things I am posting some interviews from my archive. First up are three interviews with guys who recorded Grateful Dead (and other) shows: Jerry Moore, Dr. Bob Wagner, and the brothers Jim Oade and Doug Oade. Here’s a link to that set.

I have hundreds and hundreds of hours of interviews with musicians, producers, engineers, and other interesting characters, going back to my days as a music journalist (starting at BAM Magazine in 1976) and throughout my career as a radio producer. As always, I am scrambling to keep my various enterprises afloat, so if you would like to encourage me to post more treats, please drop a few bucks into the tip jar at gdhour.com/support.html.

Thank you, and enjoy!!

P.S. I haven’t moved this one over to SoundCloud yet, but here is another interview with some great guys who record shows: Barry Glassberg, Rob Bertrando, and (again) Jerry Moore. This one was recorded between sets at Cal Expo on June 9, 1990.

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